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CNN International: Biden Vows To Respond After Three U.S. Soldier Killed In Iran; Doctors Without Borders: Between 300 And 350 Patients At Nasser Hospital In Khan Younis Still Unable To Evacuate; Palestinian State Media: At Least 10 Killed In Israeli Shelling Of UNRWA School In Gaza City. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 29, 2024 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:00:00]

MAX FOSTER, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, and welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead, three U.S. troops are killed in a drone strike in Jordan, and President Biden vows to respond. But, what options does the U.S. have? Also, multiple countries suspend funding to the UN agency that aids Palestinians, over allegations that staff members were involved in October's attack on Israel. The latest coming up on that. Plus, Russians feeling the pinch at the grocery store. We will tell you why President Vladimir Putin is to get involved as egg prices skyrocket.

Well, Iran is distancing itself from a deadly drone attack on U.S. soldiers in Jordan. Sunday's attack killed three soldiers and injured another 30 U.S. service members. The White House blamed Iran-backed militants. But, Iran says accusations behind the attack are baseless, adding that regional resistance groups don't take orders from Tehran. The drone hit an outpost near Jordan's border with Syria. U.S. President Joe Biden promised to hold those responsible accountable for the deaths.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We had a tough day and last night in the Middle East. We lost three brave souls in an attack at one of our bases. I'd ask for a moment of silence for all the three of those fallen soldiers. And we shall respond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, the attack comes amid fears of an even wider war across the Middle East.

Ben Wedeman joins us from Beirut with the details. Could you explain a bit more about what happened here? Who was responsible and their relationship with Iran?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it appears the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, sort of an umbrella group for a variety of Iran-linked militias, was behind this attack, which resulted in the first American fatalities in the Middle East since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. Now, as you said, the Iranians have distanced themselves. They said the last thing this region needs is a regional war. Nonetheless, it does appear that the United States believes that somehow Iranian-backed militias were involved in this attack.

And certainly, it's important to keep in mind that since about mid- October, there have been almost 160 strikes on American facilities forces in Syria and Iraq. This is the first time it actually happened in Jordan, although we must stress it was very much on the Jordanian side of the Syrian-Jordanian border. But, as a result of this, obviously, the concerns about a possible regional war have intensified. And I can tell you, here in Beirut, Lebanese and officials and diplomats we've spoken to are all very concerned of the -- basically the war in Gaza spreading, having ripple effects, well beyond the Gaza Strip itself.

And certainly, the United States is in a very difficult position. If it doesn't strike hard enough, President Biden's domestic critics, of whom there are many, will come down on him. They're already breathing down his neck. For instance, we saw that Lindsey Graham, the Republican Senator from South Carolina, tweeted "Hit Iran now. Hit them hard". But, of course, if that happens, there is a very real possibility of indeed a massive regional war breaking out. And keep in mind, Max, that there are U.S. forces sprawled across the Middle East. There are 900 in northeastern Syria. There are about 2,500 in Iraq itself. And in Jordan, there appear to be more than 2,000 as well, in addition to those U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf.

So, the possibility for this is very dangerous. And in a sense, we are already in a low intensity regional war, as I've said with you over -- on a variety of occasions, and as I said, this is raising concerns dramatically of something much worse. Max.

FOSTER: Okay. Ben, thank you.

[08:05:00]

White House National Security Council Spokesperson, John Kirby, spoke to CNN this morning, just a short while ago. Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATL. SECURITY COUNCIL COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: We are working our way through the attribution, what group was specifically responsible for this, although I think we have a pretty good sense. And we certainly believe that the group was supported by Kata'ib Hezbollah, which is one of the main IRGC Revolutionary Guard Corps-backed groups in Iraq and Syria that have been conducting so many of these attacks on our troops and our facilities.

As for response options, the President is working his way through that right now. He had a good meeting yesterday with the national security team. We're still -- he still has decision space ahead of him. And I won't certainly get in front of that. As you heard him say yesterday, we will respond. We'll do it in a time and a manner of our choosing. We know the serious consequences here of this particular attack, the fact that there had been a series of attacks now, increasingly lethal, over weeks and months, which is why the President is going to be reviewing what the appropriate response is going forward.

We don't want to see these attacks continue. And we want to make it clear that they're unacceptable. We also want to make it clear that we'll do what we have to do to protect our troops, our facilities, our national security interests in the region. Those are the options that the President is weighing right now. We're going to take this very, very seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Let's take a closer look at Washington's response, its options.

Arlette Saenz joins us live at the White House. You are hearing there, Arlette, Ben Wedeman was describing how a strike, a direct strike from the U.S. on Iran would escalate tensions, would lead to regional war potentially.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And that is a big question facing President Biden as he is going through his options to respond to this attack. There has been this aversion to starting an all-out war with Iran, and the White House has worked for quite some time to try to prevent this conflict in the Middle East from broadening even further. But, the President and his team are expected today to start talking through some of those options that the President will have to respond.

Of course, there have been many attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in the region since the October 7 attack, more than 150. But, this really marked a significant escalation, because three U.S. service members actually died in this attack, which really raises the stakes for President Biden, as he is charting out his course of action to respond. The President, over the weekend, vowing that there would be a response in the time and manner of the United States' choosing. But, the big question is, what exactly does he pursue?

So far, the President's and the U.S. response to these types of attacks have been trying to target weapon or supply infrastructures for these Iran-backed militant groups. But, the President could decide to take things a step further. There has already been a chorus up on Capitol Hill from Republican lawmakers urging the White House to strike directly within Tehran, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator John Cornyn, among those advocating for that position. But, of course, the President will have to balance what this could mean going forward, as they don't want to see things really spiral into a wider conflict. But, the President is trying to weigh those options of how exactly they will respond now that the U.S. has seen a death due to these attacks.

FOSTER: Okay. Arlette Saenz at the White House, thank you for that.

Now, as many as 350 patients are still trapped in Nasser Hospital in the embattled Gazan city of Khan Younis. That's according to 'Doctors Without Borders' which says vital medical services at the hospital have now collapsed, and staff have very low supplies and are being forced to reuse things like surgical gauze.

Meanwhile, in Gaza City, the Palestinian state news agency reports at least 10 civilians were killed when Israeli shelling hit a UNRWA school. CNN has reached out to the IDF and UNRWA about the shelling. All of this as CIA Director William Burns joined other intelligence officials for high-level hostage talks in Europe on Sunday.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is live for us in Abu Dhabi with the latest on that. We're not getting a huge amount of information because this is intelligence-led. Isn't it? But, what sort of leaks are we getting?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, having just had John Kirby on our air, we did get some insight into how the talks are going at this point. We heard from the National Security Commission that he felt pretty good about the way things were going. He said that the talks were sobering, that they were serious, and there is a lot of work yet to be done. But, he did sound cautiously optimistic from the U.S. point of view as to how these talks were going. Now, as you say, it's intelligence-led. The intelligence chiefs of the U.S., of Qatar, of Israel and Egypt having this conversation. We also heard a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office. They did say it was constructive but significant gaps remain.

[08:10:00]

We know one of the stumbling blocks is that Hamas would like to see a ceasefire in Gaza and that is simply not something that Israel is willing to consider at this point. Max.

FOSTER: Okay. And in terms of this investigation into UNRWA, I mean, they have taken this unprecedented step, haven't they, of firing the employees in relation to this, even before the full investigation is carried out. It shows how serious it is.

HANCOCKS: That's right. We've heard from UNRWA officials. We've heard from the UN Secretary General as well, saying how serious that is that they have fired immediately nine of the 12 alleged people that Israel say was -- were involved in the October 7 attacks. We understand one has been killed. And two, they are currently trying to clarify the identification of them.

But, we're also seeing a lot of pushback from UNRWA, the UNRWA chief, for example, saying that it was shocking that some countries around the world, including big donors, including the U.S., the UK, and Canada, are pulling their funding temporarily until the investigation is done, saying that it is a desperate time for those in Gaza to need this humanitarian aid. The Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, saying two million people rely on this, and that the funding they have at this point will not see them through the end of February. So, they are calling on countries to reconsider this temporary pause in funding. We've seen other countries, for example, Norway and Ireland and Turkey say that they will continue with the funding, and they will watch very closely to see where this United Nations investigation goes.

We've also heard from the Israeli side saying that they believe they have significant evidence. They were speaking about evidence, photographic evidence from GoPro cameras, for example, from the day of the attack by Hamas, and the fact that UNRWA and the UN has moved so quickly to get rid and fire some of those individuals that were named shows that they took this evidence seriously as well. Max.

FOSTER: Okay. Paula, thank you for that.

NATO Secretary General is set to meet with senior U.S. officials, including the Secretary of State, in Washington later today. Jens Stoltenberg is also due to speak with lawmakers on Capitol Hill during his visit, and he is calling for continued support for Kyiv. On Sunday, Stoltenberg said Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine isn't entirely making Europe more vulnerable, but the rest of the Western world as well. And he warned that China is watching.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: What matters is that Ukraine gets a continued support because we need to realize that this is closely watched in Beijing. So, it's not only making Europe more vulnerable, but all of us, also United States more vulnerable, if Putin gets what he wants in Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The man killed during an attack that ISIS says it carried out on a Catholic Church in Istanbul on Sunday was Muslim, according to a local man. The video taken at the scene shows masked gunmen leaving the church after the attack. Turkey says it has arrested at least 47 people. Security forces carried out more than 30 raids, looking for two gunmen who opened fire during mass.

Evergrande, the poster child for China's property crisis, has been ordered by a High Court in Hong Kong to liquidate. The company with liabilities of around $330 billion defaulted on its debt in 2021, sending the Chinese real estate industry into a tailspin it still hasn't recovered from. Evergrande CEO told state media the liquidation order doesn't affect its main subsidiaries because they're independent legal entities.

The Princess of Wales is now home. Kensington Palace reports the Catherine has returned to Windsor where she'll continue her recovery from abdominal surgery. The Princess checked into the hospital nearly two weeks ago. The palace says she has been making good progress. Previously, it said she probably won't resume public duties until after Easter.

Still to come, President Biden has vowed to respond to the drone attack on U.S. troops in Jordan. But, he didn't say how or when. We will discuss the options.

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[08:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) FOSTER: There are growing questions about how the U.S. might respond to the drone attack that killed three American soldiers and injured dozens of service members in Jordan on Sunday. President Biden has vowed to answer the attack, saying the U.S. will do it at a "time and manner of our choosing". American officials have accused Iran-backed militants of carrying out the attack. For its part, Tehran has denied any involvement. But, some U.S. Republicans are calling on Biden to strike targets inside Iran.

CNN's Oren Liebermann at the Pentagon. A huge amount of concern about this, Oren, as we're hearing from Ben, who is in the region right now, because it would very likely trigger a much wider regional war. What are the options here?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: So, the U.S. has a number of options, and this is what the Biden administration is weighing. President Joe Biden was briefed on those options by the U.S. Defense Secretary as well as the U.S. National Security Advisor. And these options are short of striking Iran itself, which the administration is unlikely to do, because it doesn't want to spark a regional open war between the U.S. and Iran.

So, the drone attack itself, right at the intersection of Iraq, Syria and Jordan, appear to have come from Syria, though that's preliminary at this point. The U.S. could strike Iranian proxies and Iranian- backed militias in Iraq or Syria, or both. Then it could go after weapons or facilities, or it could take that a step up and go after the leadership of these groups. It is worth noting the U.S. hasn't directly attributed who is responsible for the attack at this point. So, that's part of this calculation as well. So, Max, there are a number of options here, including, of course, the scope and the breadth of the attack. We have seen the U.S. strike targets in Iraq and Syria over the past few months. This one, when the U.S. decides to respond, is expected to be a much larger and more forceful response.

FOSTER: A lot of pressure coming from within Washington to use this as a time to actually strike Iran, though. Presumably, he is listening to that more closely in an election year. Do you think he is likely to respond to that?

LIEBERMANN: Probably not a direct response to Iran starting in an open war, one that may very well require congressional approval is not something he is likely to do, not only because it is an election year, but also because the Biden administration to this point has tried to avoid escalating the conflict in Gaza. There is certainly political pressure to respond. And it's more than just political here. The U.S. needs to send a message. It needs to do it fairly quickly to these Iranian proxies and to Iran itself that backs, funds, trains and arms these groups. So, there is that pressure to respond. We do expect it will be relatively soon. The U.S. isn't going to wait all that long. But, a direct open conflict with Iran striking in Tehran itself doesn't seem like the administration is likeliest choice at this point.

FOSTER: And calming tensions, presumably, was Iran very much distancing itself today from that attack on the three American servicemen that died.

LIEBERMANN: The U.S. very, very clearly aware of the response from Iran trying to, as you pointed out, distance itself from these attacks. Again, Iran arms and funds and trains these groups. But, Iran doesn't always have pinpoint precision on what they do. Certainly, though, Iran and the U.S. well aware that this is now approximately 160 attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, many of those have been intercepted.

[08:20:00]

A number of those have resulted in minor injuries to U.S. forces. But this, of course, the first time U.S. service members have been killed as a result of those attacks, and that's why the U.S. making it clear a response is coming.

FOSTER: Oren, thank you so much for joining us from the Pentagon.

Still to come, a look into daily life in Putin's Russia where communities are dealing with surging prices of staples, like eggs. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: As we're getting closer in on two years of Russia's war on Ukraine, a few cracks in Vladimir Putin's image of a stable Russia are starting to emerge. The price of one staple eggs is skyrocketing. And CNN's Clare Sebastian has been sharing a rare glimpse of daily life in Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When your husband spoils you with expensive presents, reads the caption, Russian social media brimming with egg memes, making light of a new feature of Russia's upside down war economy with sudden and unexpected price rises. Drive an hour outside Moscow, though, and it's no laughing matter for these pensioners.

Of course we notice it. The pension is 13,000 rubles, says (inaudible). That's less than $150 per month. Maybe we buy less meat, says (inaudible). There is still enough for medicines. Egg prices rose 18 percent in December alone, Russian official data shows, more than 60 percent over the year, far outstripping overall inflation at 7.4 percent. As images spread of lines forming outside supermarkets, this purportedly from Belgorod in December, Russia's President forced into damage control mode.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (Translated): I am sorry about this, and want to apologize for this problem. This is a setback in the government's work. Although they say this is not the case, I still think it is. The problem is related to a failure to increase inputs enough.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The government took the not so subtle hint. Eggs were exempted from import duties for six months, and shipments started arriving from Turkey, Azerbaijan, and staunch ally Belarus also ramping up supplies, its President unable to resist a rare dig.

ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO, BELARUSIAN PRESIDENT (Translated): Our own production covers our needs in terms of grain, pork, chicken, milk, vegetable oils, and chicken eggs.

PUTIN: Send some to us. Don't be greedy.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): In Putin's surprisingly resilient war economy, the egg crisis reveals the biggest problem is not decline but overheating.

[08:25:00]

Putin says this is about higher demand because it's slightly higher wages, partly true economists say but what Putin doesn't say is why wages are up.

SEBASTIAN: This labor shortage is a huge issue. Right? Where does that come from?

ELINA RIBAKOVA, SENIOR FELLOW, PETERSON INSTITUTE OF INTL. ECONOMICS: Mobilization. I think to me, the key issue here is the fact that there are a lot of deaths at war, and then they have to be replaced. These people have to be replaced, the Russian officials trying to keep it very quiet the numbers of how many people have died.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The weaker ruble, a direct result of sanctions, has also pushed up import costs for poultry producers. And then, there is the wartime spending.

DR. RICHARD CONNOLLY, ASSOCIATE FELLOW AT RUSI: The budget for 2024 envisages, even adjusted for inflation, record levels of federal government expenditure. So, when you put that alongside of a supply side tightness with a massive increase in demand driven by the state, you've got a recipe for inflation.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): President Putin now poised for the next price spike, a threat to his image of stability ahead of March elections. They're likely not his presidential shelf life.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Let's take you live to Paris right now, farmers moving their protest closer to the capital. They're expected to block highway routes near Paris. Thousands of police have been mobilized. But, they haven't had much joy in this area, the road completely closed along that one side. The farmers are protesting low pay, cheap imports and overregulation. We'll keep an eye on that for you because it's causing a lot of disruption.

Thank you for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. World Sport with Amanda is next.

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